


Dead or Alive

by Lilkiwibird



Category: Danny Phantom, Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Aged Up, Aliens, Halfa, Mutant, Teenager, Trolls, Wizards, ghost - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:40:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29650776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilkiwibird/pseuds/Lilkiwibird
Summary: It seemed that even saving the world still didn’t absolve Danny in the eyes of the Guys in White, no matter what he did. At least Walker had some sense of dignity when it came to that sort of thing, but them? Not a chance.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	1. Prologue

** _NEW ECTO BILL PASSES WITH FLYING COLOURS_ **

** _—Cain J. Thompson_ **

Breaking news: Parliament has just passed a law legalising the capture and dissection of all beings pertaining to ectoplasm with 77 votes in favour to the 44 votes against. Amid the loud shows of jubilation from the floor and gallery, the declaration of the vote was followed by several overwhelming cheers. The bill with take effect in mid July and comes three years after Amity Park had been perpetually plagued by ghosts and ghouls for the passed 60 years.

_“…Yay, we did it!”_ was the celebratory cry from Ms Emily Cage when she spoke to the media waiting in Parliament tonight after the _Ectoplasm (Investigation & Study of Ectoplasm) Amendment Bill _passed by 77 votes to 44. Green MP Rodrick Letto, National MP John Todd, deputy Labour MP Nicholas Smithers and convenor of the _Ectoplasm Investigation & Study Campaign _Connor Reid clapped when Ms Cage spoke. She stated that she had only ever hoped the ‘Yes’ vote would reach 61. _“…I never would have thought that Parliament would have overwhelmingly supported it…So far, two-thirds of Parliament have endorsed the bill…I think the cross-party working group has been incredibly effective, but it also shows how we’re keen to expand on our knowledge of the wider worlds…”_

Mr Letto said it was _“…an enormously powerful day…”_ for him. _“…For me, it’s as if our communities have joined together on a journey from both within and without Amity Park…Hopefully it’ll push the rest of the country into doing something about these phantom menaces”_

Reverend Michelle Howard said she was delighted that the bill had passed, stating that _“…We know that the sun will come out tomorrow and everyone can have a take a big breath & move on……It is so comforting to know that through God’s love, we have discovered a way to help our deceased loved ones pass through Heaven’s gates…and ultimately, ourselves as well…”_

More than a hundred supporters gathered in bars and establishments around Amity Park to watch the vote take place. There was a din of anticipation in the moments before the vote was announced, followed by a hush as the vote was read, before erupting into cheers and applause in the end. Many supporters embraced the cheer from Parliament following the vote.

Matthew Scott, 22, said that he was thrilled at the outcome. _“…As a local business owner, nothing warms my heart more than knowing this nightmare will soon be over! No more fearing for ourselves or our livelihoods because of those monsters…”_ Mr Scoot stated that this monumental day would go down in history.

Many conspiracy theorists are now being hailed as experts on all things ectoplasmic. Jacob Williams, 45, said that he couldn’t stop grinning when he heard the news. _“…I told you so! We all told you so! You thought we were just crazy, but here we are…It begs the question, if ghosts and ghouls are real then what else is out there?”_

The 77 to 44 vote for tonight’s third ready vote is the same as the second reading vote a few weeks prior, although two MPs voted differently tonight. National’s Shelly Hamilton changed from a ‘No’ to a ‘Yes’ and Labour’s Maria Guy changed from a ‘Yes’ to a ‘No’ vote tonight. Only two protestors who were against the vote actively spoke out to the media.

Samantha “Sam” Manson, 17, said that the supporters of the _Ectoplasm_ bill were treating the newly discovered ghosts and ghouls like frogs in science class. _“…You seem to be forgetting that these ghosts were once living, breathing people—our loved ones—and you just want to cut them up like frogs? You won’t condone murder, but once they’re dead, they’re fair game? How inhumane can you get?…I can’t believe anyone could even consider accepting this! Did everyone suddenly forget who saved the Earth from the asteroid three years ago? Here’s a hint: it wasn’t NOT your precious Parliament…”_

Jasmine Fenton, 19, stated that whilst she understood that people feared the unknown, this was not how she pictured it going. _“…Whilst it is only natural to fear the unknown—we’re only human after all—but there are far better ways to explore these new ventures without tearing them apart…Who knows how this new knowledge will affect us in the future? Will we become the monsters we so fear?”_

Many have speculated that the Fentons and associates have known about these ecto-beings for years and have kept it to themselves in an effort to gain some sort of monetary success from it. Jack Fenton, 43, has also come under fire for trying to advertise his wares during the lead up to the passing of the bill. He refused to comment on the matter.

Ms Cage also acknowledged the party leaders who had shown leadership by supporting her bill: Prime Minister Johnathon Hall, Labour leader Daniel Morris, Act leader Carl Banks, Amity First leader Lucille Peterson and Conservative co-leaders Eugene Carter and Courtney Glenn. _“…Nothing can counteract the very real negative consequences of not passing this bill. But nothing could make me more proud to be Amity born and raised, than passing this bill…I thank my colleagues for simply doing what is just, fair and right…”_ Ms Cage has also been quoted thanking her _“darling”_ civil union partner Patrick Potter for _“…Sharing this journey with me”_

* * *

** _THE MISSING CHILDREN OF AMITY PARK_ **

** _—Roger B. Davis_ **

The _Zenith Chronicle_ revealed earlier in week that the police are now reinvestigating the disappearance of Thompson E. Miller and Marie J. Miller, age 8, who went missing in April 2000. It is one of the oldest known cold cases in Amity Park, but there have been a handful ever since. Whilst hundreds upon thousands of people throughout the country have gone missing over the years, the majority were found and returned to their families in various states. Here at the _Zenith Chronicle,_ we have taken it upon ourselves to spread the word about those children or teenagers thathave never returned.

**_PICTURED: DANIEL “DANNY” FENTON, AGE 14_ **

On 24 December 2004, the local Amity child disappeared during the chaos that ensued following the sudden appearance of an incoming asteroid. Although narrowly missing the Earth altogether, the asteroid marked a significant day in the Fenton family & in turn, Amity Park. Whilst many others had gone missing during this time, they were later discovered either alive or deceased.

Police told the _Zenith Chronicle_ that the Fenton case is considered to be one of Amity Park’s “…oldest missing persons cases on record, that it became a homicide investigation…” Twelve years have passed since that fateful day however, and yet despite this the Fenton family and friends still retain the utmost hope for Daniel’s safe return.

Pictured below is a computer generated image of what Daniel might look like in the present day. If you have any information please contact the _Zenith Chronicle._ For more information go to: [_www.TheZenithChronicle.com/The-Missing-Children-of-Amity-Park_](http://www.TheZenithChronicle.com/The-Missing-Children-of-Amity-Park)

**_PICTURED: DANIEL “DANNY” FENTON, AGE 26_ **


	2. Sleepy Town or Freak Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cover:  
> https://www.pinterest.nz/pin/455496949818093690/

Daniel Masters was an odd sort of boy, even for your typical teenager. On one hand, the 17 year old stood at a short 5'5" with fringe as white as snow and undercut fuzz as black as night. A pair of electric green eyes lay embedded in freckles cheeks and he usually bore a small smile that held many secrets. But then again, what teenagers didn't? On the other hand, there was his sickly parlour that was forever tinged green and the unnaturally supernatural powers he wielded with effortless ease.

It's not really something you'd expect if you dared to ask nor the quietness of the 17 year old. Not his age, mind you, but the years that he had been stuck at that age. Perpetually in a mysterious state where he was not quite there and yet not quite here. Mysterious only in that fact that he no longer existed. Technically.

Daniel "Danny" Fenton had gone missing—runaway—12 years ago, following the salvation of Earth from the incoming asteroid and the ensuing witch hunt courtesy of the Guys in White. He had missed his best friends and family terribly, but knew deep down that it was for the best. Turning the whole planet intangible had taken _a lot_ out of the young teen, even with all the help he had received and he'd felt his human half slip further from his grasp with each passing moment. After being zapped (and clinically murdered) with the Ghost Portal not once, but twice in one year, it was no wonder that he had slowly become more ghost than human.

It had been a hard day when Fenton had merged with Phantom, taking away the familiar features he had come to know and turning them into something entirely new and otherworldly. His ears had become pointy, flesh melting into a sickly pastel green and dotted with green freckles. Once blue eyes bled to electric green and the top half of his hair remained the bleached white of his ghost form (but surprisingly not the roots).

Then there was the whole incident with his parents finding about his alter ego when doomsday crept ever closer. Let's just say, things had _not_ turned out as picture-perfect as everyone seemed to think. Even if you have the best intentions, changing one's beliefs didn't happen overnight and his parents had been ghost hunters _long_ before either he or his sister were even a thought in their minds.

But now, in his place stood Daniel "Dan" Masters, nomadic teen and taco builder extraordinaire. Dan had taken his adoptive uncle's name to both spite the man and hide in plain sight. Those who had known him in the past, would likely assume that he'd never have anything to do with the (former) millionaire and they would be right; but no one could deny that it was a good cover and it certainly helped that in this new form he bore some sort of resemblance to the elder halfa. As far as the world as concerned, Daniel "Danny" Fenton had been missing for twelve years & considered dead and although it had been hard, it was truly for the best.

Of course, the first few years on the run had been hard, there was no denying or sugarcoating that. But he felt like his life had been turned around when he had discovered _Amity. Amity_ was a navy seven seater van that had been converted into a camper van; one barely large enough to comfortably fit himself, Cujo and all their things inside. With a surprising amount of ample storage hidden within nooks and crannies, a convertible futon bed and enough room for the small dog to run around without going stir-crazy Daniel felt like he finally had a piece of home that he had longed for ever since leaving—something he could _finally_ call his own. How he had obtained _Amity_ was another story entirely, one best kept for a rainy day.

* * *

Arcadia Oaks had been kind to Dan. In a town where 'the weird' was normal and the things that go bump in the night was just the day-to-day, he found that he fit right in. From the arcane magic store that sat nestled between a record store and a second-hand bookstore, to the pudgy taco vendor/unofficial forger (his boss) and the hordes of sharp-eyed elderly with their chess tournaments. But that didn't mean there was other things about the town that were typical of a sleepy American town. Like the high school, for example. Arcadia Oaks High School was about what you'd expect from a small town high school. Everyone knew everyone, often making the new kid a spectacle until something new came along.

Twelve years on, and he was finally able to enjoy the normal teenager things, free from fear that a ghost/ghoul would show up to create mischief or the GIW would turn around the corner invent on capturing him. Things like detention and with high school came all the bells and whistles, something that Dan had been sorely missing though he would never admit it; well, maybe to Cujo but that dog was like his little shadow loyally following after him wherever he went. Even to school, which incidentally, was how he wound up here.

Bright and early that Saturday morning, Dan found himself watching from his van parked in one of the special spots reserved for seniors as he watched the other 'bad kids' trickled inside the sparse school building looking despondent at the idea of Saturday detention, devouring the last of his breakfast. People watching had always been a favourite past-time for the ghost boy, quiet as he was (and now without the human shield that were his best friends). First there was Claire Nuñez, daughter of Councilwoman-in-the-making, Ophelia Nuñez and all round nice girl. Claire might've been considered a popular girl, but Arcadia Oaks High didn't really have too many of the cliché cliques (aside from the jocks, nerds & bullies) as the population wasn't really big enough for that kind of thing.

Next was James "Jim" Lake Jr, nice guy & great in the kitchen (or so his best friend liked to boast). With a penchant for the colour blue, a love for mopeds and an obvious crush on Claire, the boy seemed like your regular teenager, if not for the odd company he kept at night. The ghosts in Arcadia loved to talk and boy, did they share the juicy details pertaining to little boy blue. Speaking of his best friend, there was Tobias "Toby" Domzalski. A stocky boy who lived for sweater vests, geology and burritos. A constant customer at _El Guerito's Tacos,_ Dan knew more about that boy than he would likely care to know.

Eli Pepperjack was a conspiracy theorist in khakis. There was really no other way to put it. Big thick glasses and an obsession with the Other. From what little he'd seen from the teen, he was forever going on about strange creatures dancing in the shadows of their little town. It should be known that not all of his stories rang with false information.

Steve Palchuck played the titular character of stereotypical jock & bully, although if rumours were to be believed Eli was slowly training him out of it, like one would a dog. Blonde locks swept back, the jock was just as full of himself as he was pretty. But according to the local rumour mill, he was the first to fall under the supposed gas leak from the science lab a few weeks before Dan had arrived and had run about the school claiming that no one else but him was Steve. So possible identity crisis?

Which left Mary Wang and Shannon Longhannon. Although a mouthful and a half, Shannon was a sweet girl if a little pensive and mousy at times. Unless of course, you got her fired up about something as Dan had experienced when he had scoffed about the supposed difference between paperback and hardcover books. Never again. Now, if anyone was to be considered popular, it would be Mary. Straight A student by day and star-chasing influencer by night; the girl always seemed to know where the party was at if she was not the one currently hosting one. All of the kids were technically a year below Dan, although he had been stuck at 17yrs for the past nine years so to him they really were just that, kids.

"Be good, Cujo" Dan farewelled his energetic dog and (current) best friend before finally departing from his van, exchanging his empty bowl for his schoolbag and locking the door tight behind him. "I won't be long" Leaving his muted jacket hang open to reveal the Phantom shirt beneath (which _no one_ had yet to connect himself to outside of wearing it), the older teen made for the school doors as the last of the parents doing the drop-off fled around the corner (after making sure that their misbehaving children actually made it inside the building without doing a runner). Dan had specifically bought the jacket in a larger size more so for comfort and to hide his wiry muscles from superheroing more than anything else. Whilst he wasn't exactly Mr Muscle Man, he was still rather self conscious about his body all these years later. He wasn't sure if it was really something he would ever get over.

Slipping into Senior Uhl's as quiet as well, the dead, Dan shuffled over to his seat in the back of the room next to the window, doing his best to ignore the wandering eyes tracing his hunched figure as he made his way there and just in time for the Austrian Spanish teacher to make his grand entrance. In a lot of ways Uhl reminded Dan of Mr Lancer, his vice-principal from Casper High back in Amity Park. They were both hard on the kids in order to better them, although the only real difference between the two teachers (aside from their roles within the school) was the hair or lack thereof. Where Lancer had sported a shiny bald head, Uhl bore locks of blonde that he maintained with just as much care as his beloved truck, Suzannah.

Sitting in the back corner of the room as he was, Dan was not only able to watch was going on in front of him like it was a soap opera, but he was mostly left alone to do so. Something that he took full advantage of by discreetly hiding his earphones inside of his shirt so that he could listen to the radio whilst he completed his homework with the window next to him cracked open just a pinch. Not that he needed the cold breeze, Dan created enough of a cold spot all on his own, owing to his cryokinetic abilities.

"…There are no cellphones allowed" Uhl stated as he walked down the rows with an empty filing box to collect all of their cellphones in, his Austrian accent thick on his tongue. "You can survive without your texts & your apps, your beepy-boops, your facey-spaces and your tweety-flaps" Mary, who had resolutely been ignoring the blonde standing over her, continued to snap posed pictures for whichever of her latest stories. Dan had to admit though, the girl wasn't half-bad with that kind of thing, unlike him. But then again, he hadn't really grown up social media as it now was. Hell, when he'd been a kid, he was still using a flip phone! None of this touch-screen stuff, which is why he wouldn't say so aloud because not only would it oust him, it made him sound like a grumpy old man.

"For your transgressions" Uhl stated after not-so-calmly ripping Mary's cellphone from her hands and depositing it into his box as he made his way back up to the front. "You are to do homework the entire duration"

"What if I already did my homework?" Eli raised his hand, pride clear in his voice and surprisingly on Steve's face.

"You will sit and stare at the wall. You will _not_ leave this room. If I find even _one_ of you has left the room without permission, then you will _all_ face punishment. Do you understand?" Uhl replied over the buzzing of phones and the groans of the class.

"Yes~!" Groaned the class, many of them rolling their eyes in the process. Unlike the others however, Dan wasn't complaining; after his dismal start to his high school career twelve years ago, he was more than happy for the structured set up in order to finish it. There was also the mountain of homework seniors seemed to get in order to prepare them for finals, graduation and eventually college. Although the punishment/threat was a little over the top.

"What is _that_ , Mr Domzalski?" Uhl pointed to the breakfast burrito Toby held mere inches from his drooling mouth, making the boy go wide-eyed and sheepish at the sudden attention.

"Oh this?" Toby replied as Jim face-palmed next to him, "It's a, er, _Diablo Maximus Breakfast Burrito…"_

"Ah, _Diablo Maximus Breakfast Burrito!_ Smells delicious" Uhl purred, prowling closer.

"It's my favourite!"

 _This is going to end in tears,_ Dan predicted as he watched the Spanish teacher reel the junior in.

"Oh, your favourite, you say? _You_ steal my favourite truck—"

"Ehh~!"

" _I_ steal your favourite burrito" Uhl snatched the offending food from Toby, who replied like an injured dog. Actually, he also looked like a kicked puppy as his burrito was carted away.

"Ahh~!"

"As they say, fair play is turnabout. Detention will start: Now!"

The minutes had barely ticked by as pen scratched against paper and Uhl taunted Toby with his uneaten burrito. Dan had only just made his way through the first paragraph of his astronomy essay when the discussion had started up again. "…Heh! I usually eat when I'm worried and now I can't even do _that?"_ Toby complained as his stomach roared within the quiet classroom. "Curse you, Senior Uhl!"

" _Diablo Maximus Breakfast Burrito"_ Uhl taunted, waving the uneaten burrito around as he had very likely heard the comment from the boy two feet in front of him.

"I feel guilty sitting here when there's a chance that Gunmar's out!" Added Claire.

"Blinky and Aaarrrggh are already looking into it" Jim reassured her. "Without proof that Gunmar really escaped, there's no point causing a panic in Troll Market"

 _So that's what he was talking about._ Dan mused, pointed ears turned towards the hushed conversation at the front of the room. Arcadia's dead were more than happy to spread the gossip about the living; particularly the odd little things that happened to the hidden residents of the town. To one who could communicate with the dead, secrets weren't really secrets and even if they were, they didn't stay that way for long. Griddle, a large stone-faced troll with ornate horns that curled back towards his head, had been one of the first of such creatures he had come across when he first moved to Arcadia Oaks. Griddle loved to poetically wax about the beauty of the heartstone, his time as a snorlauf whatever that was (his stories never really fully explained) and Troll Market itself. He often painted a picture of beauty lined with geodes and random little knickknacks that were considered to be delicacies to the trolls, like socks.

"… Oh!" Eli jerked, dropping his book (which was upside down in a poor attempt to act natural) when Toby threw a ball of scrunched up paper at him and knocked his glasses clean off his face. Dan winced as the incident reminded him of the time he had been confronted and falsely accused by Sidney Pointdexter, a vengeful ghost from the '50s who protected the bullied or so he believed.

"Mind your own business!" Toby snarked as Jim and Claire gave the boy matching looks sneering disdain.

"Mind your own face, buttsnack!" Steve snarled as he jolted awake, snatching the second projectile from the air and fired it back before it could hit Eli.

"Since when are _you_ and _Dumbledork_ such _besties?"_ Mary inquired.

"Uh, what? No! We're not besties! Ew! That guy? No!" Steve panicked, before shoving Eli out of his seat, clearly embarrassed. But the reply reminded Dan of something a big brother might do when he was confronted with the idea of actually thinking that his younger sibling(s) were cool.

"Mmm" Uhl hummed, completely ignoring the commotion going on in front of him as he debated on whether or not to eat the burrito. "It can't be _that_ spicy…"

"Ah! It _is_ that spicy!" Toby panicked, stage-whispering to Jim & Claire leant in to listen as Uhl began to devour the spicy burrito . "It took me three years to build a tolerance for a single bite and he's wolfing it down in one go!"

"Mm ah! That's good" Uhl smiled, sucking the sauce off of his fingers. At least that was until the burrito hit him at full force. Toby's growling stomach was _nothing_ compared to the upset gut of Senior Uhl which sounded almost cartoonic in its upset; particularly when it was followed by a loud burp. "Ooh! Oof! Got a bit of a kick, ja"

"Eurgh!" Eli groaned as he picked himself off of the floor, just a little worse for wears. "Good hit Steve, way to protect our cover"

"Mmhm" Steve hummed cockily.

"I'm starting to think that Jim and the others aren't here on 'Official Business'"

"Wait—so you're saying, we gave ourselves detention for nothing?!"

"Why is everyone gossiping and not gossiping with me?" Mary despaired as she plucked a second phone from her pockets. _"Oh my gosh!_ Are they gossiping _about_ me?!"

"I'll gossip with you, Mary" Shannon offered from the other back corner of the room.

"Shut up, Shannon!"

"Stop squabbling!" Uhl barked, "From now on, not another word!"

The command would've been more impactful if the Austrian didn't then bolt from his seat and rush out of the door clutching on to his stomach with face grim and eyes wide. Hurried footsteps sounded against the linoleum floor before the bathroom door at the end of the hall was heard slamming open and then shut as Uhl rushed inside. The following noises were not something for a squeamish stomach; sometimes Dan cursed his enhanced senses.

"Ugh!" Steve groaned as he repositioned himself, most likely intent on sleeping away the detention.

"He hasn't been back in a while" Toby worried. "Think something happened to him?"

"Like _what,_ exactly? You know something we don't?"

"Where—where are you going?" Claire asked as Jim slid from his seat and Dan bit his tongue in an effort to hold back whatever he had to say. There would undoubtedly be questions and he wasn't exactly the best liar, which was ironic really.

 _"Just_ to see where he went" Jim replied.

"But we're not supposed to leave!" Eli cried.

"I'm just poking my head out"

When judgement didn't seem to rain down upon Jim, Claire joined him at the door followed by Toby and then the rest of the class. "It's like a broken yoghurt machine!" Claire grimaced.

"Eurgh! Sounds like lasagne getting shot out of a t-shirt cannon!" Mary added.

"Yeah, that burrito had three ghost peppers in it. Too much spice for his delicate Austrian stomach" Explained Toby.

"He could be in there all day" Claire ended.

"All day?" Mary beamed mischeviously. Dan was the last to leave his seat, sparing a glance out the window at his van where he knew Cujo was likely wanting out by now and moved to the classroom door where the younger students bore matching grins as they listened to their teacher horribly defecate. Arcadia Oaks was no Amity Park, but it sure had its moments.


	3. Toilet Troubles or Party Central

With Señor Uhl stuck inside the bathroom and glued to the toilet, courtesy of Toby's half-eaten _Diablo Maximum Breakfast Burrito,_ the students wasted no time in escaping from the classroom and taking over the school in such a way that they would have never been allowed to during typical school hours. For the juniors this meant skating up and down the hallways on roller skates and bicycles, posing in front of the backstage mirrors of the drama club, making a mess of the library as they read, drinking from the golden trophies and scaring each other with the mascot head. There hours whittled away with laughing at the past year books, messing around on stage, stacking furniture on top of each other and just all around messing around like the kids they were.

For Dan, the first thing he did was go out to his van and free an overly energetic Cujo from its confines before they set off to find a few of the ghostly occupants of the school building to hang out with. Dan almost always found it hard to talk to people, whether they were his peers, his elders or his juniors it was just something he couldn't do. It often felt like trying to stuff the square block into the circular hole; no matter how hard you tried it just wouldn't go. Of course, somehow this never really played a role when he talked with the dead, maybe because he felt that the dead weren't as judge as the living or maybe because he felt that the dead just didn't care.

Breaking into the cafeteria was far easier than it should've been and the padlocked fridge, even more so and like a moth to a flame, the ghosts began to appear—some he'd known in Amity Park and others he'd met here, in Arcadia. One in particular, a blue-haired rockstar by the name of Ember, had become a close friend after the whole phantom planet episode and as Danny had morphed into Dan, leaving behind the childlike beliefs of a black and white world. When he thought back on his ventures as Danny Phantom, Dan often thought that the other ghosts did what they did to humour him instead of actually meaning to cause harm. There were some who actually meant to cause harm, but mostly they just left him alone which explained why whilst they knew about his alter ego, never actually took proper advantage of it.

"Hey, Danny boy!" Ember sang, strumming on her guitar as she sat perched atop the kitchen counter. "You ready to rock?" Unlike what Dan had been led to believe when he was younger, Ember didn't actually need people to chant/sing her name to gain power; it was more so the fact that they sang her songs which did so. That didn't mean a lot of her songs didn't include her own name, because they did, but it was nice to shake things up and let loose once in a while. The greenette spared a grin towards the expectant bluenette as the kitchen became illuminated in the bright glow of her groupies (ghosts that weren't strong enough to form a corporeal form beyond the Ghost Zone) and the sound of music filled the room.

_Tel em ecudortni felsym, ew tog emos emit ot llik  
Redisnoc em eht ylraep setag ot ruoy wen etiruovaf sllirht.  
Ew dluoc og ekam yrotsyih ro uoy dluoc tser ni ecaep  
Tub ereht t'nia on yresim  
Esacu no eht rehto edis ew evil ekil sgnik._

Dan wasn't exactly what you would call a 'star performer', his voice far too pitchy and his self consciousness far too prevalent, but that didn't mean he couldn't act the fool now and then. Something as simple as dancing and singing along to a catchy tune with friends did wonders for the halfa.

_Ahctahw annog od? Ahctahw annog od?  
Tel ruoy ydob esool, tel ruoy ydob esool  
Ahctahw annog od? Ahctahw annog od?  
Whos uoy a gniht ro owt  
Esuac t'nia nees gnihton tey!_

Dancing around the kitchen with a packet of thick bacon rashers in one hand and a dog on his heels, Dan sang along to Ember's guitar as the energy within the room increased just as the temperature decreased, not that it mattered to any of the occupants inside. Dan could see his breath before him, but that may have been more to do with the other ghosts surrounding him than the actual drop in temperature.

_Efil si doog no edis fo eht toshg enoz!  
Efil si doog no edis fo eht toshg enoz!  
Os emoclew ot eht doohrehtorb  
Erehw uoy t'now eb dootsrednusim  
Efil si doog no edis fo eht toshg enoz!_

He paid no real attention to his level of noise nor the usage of supernatural powers as he danced about, using a whisk as a microphone and sang his core out. Dan made real little effort to hide his ghostly visage from the locals of Arcadia Oaks, something which didn't particularly seem to be a problem for most. Sure there would always be a few concerned or wary heads that turned his way, but for the most part people just really kept to themselves.

_Gnihtyreve sah tog a ecirp, tub ssenippah si eerf  
Tsuj os sneppah er'uoy ni kcul, ew tog a ycvacav  
Ew nac tes eht thgin no erif dna kaerb tuo fo siht enecs.  
Ruoy luos tnirp no eht klaw fo emaf  
_ _No eht draveluob fo ruoy tsedliw smaerd!_

Sparing a look towards the bluenette, Dan found her grinning wickedly as she jammed along to the song—one of the many that they had spoofed, parodied or just plain made up over the years since they had reconciled. Ember's hair (a signal about the source of her power) climbed higher into the air and danced like wildfire. A part of Dan was worried that it would set off the smoke detectors embedded in the ceiling above them, but it was unlikely that something outside of the mortal world (no matter how strong) could influence something like that.

_Ahctahw annog od? Ahctahw annog od?  
Tel ruoy ydob esool, tel ruoy ydob esool  
Ahctahw annog od? Ahctahw annog od?  
Ti t'nia 'niggarb fi st'i eurt  
_ _Won uoy t'nia nees gnihton tey!_

Ducking beneath a low-flying orb, Dan made his way over to the sizzling pans where the crackling bacon sat and added in a couple of eggs to the mix. Perpetually stuck between human and ghost as he was, Dan didn't really _need_ to eat or consume as much as he once did, but at this point it was more of a hobby than anything else. He was just glad that he wasn't eating weird things like Griddle said the trolls did. Who likes eating forks?

_Efil si doog no edis fo eht toshg enoz!  
Efil si doog no edis fo eht toshg enoz!  
Os emoclew ot eht doohrehtorb  
Erehw uoy t'now eb dootsrednusim  
Efil si doog no edis fo eht toshg enoz!  
Eht niar t'nod dnilb eht gnisir sluos, yeht tog oot hcum ot ees  
I tog rouy ruomalg, tog ruoy dolg, tog lla ll'uoy reve deen  
_ _Tel em raeh uyo won!_

Next to him, Cujo flitted about the kitchen unrestrained by the lack of legs that had melted into the little wispy tail ghosts were often pictured with. Dan grinned as he watched the dog chase after one of Ember's groupies with bright eyes as if he were playing fetch. Although the groupies weren't strong enough to form bodies outside of the Ghost Zone, that didn't mean they couldn't make themselves known in the Mortal Zone. Bubbly laughter from hordes of ghosts rocked about the cafeteria and illuminated the room like fireflies as he turned to those who had been singing along with him.

_[Eht niar t'nod dnilb eht gnisir sluos, yeht tog oot hcum ot ees]  
Ha~ey!  
[I tog rouy ruomalg, tog ruoy dolg, tog lla ll'uoy reve deen]  
Haey! I dais hctaw em ekam a evom, hctaw em ekam a evom, syob!  
[Ahctahw annog od? Ahctahw annog od?]  
I dais hctaw em ekam a evom, on, I t'nod tnioppasid  
[Ahctahw annog od? Ahctahw annog od?]  
Nema! Hctaw em ekam a evom, M'i ruoy rebmun eno eciohc  
[Ahctahw annog od? Ahctahw annog od?]  
Hctaw em ekam a evom, Emoc no dna emmig taht esion!  
A htaed htiw a weiv, t'nia taht gnihtemos?  
[Ha~ey!]_

Reaching its crescendo, the song rose even more in volume if that was even possible. Absently, Dan wondered what they sounded like to outsiders or mortals. Had they switched to Ghoulish at some point? He knew the harsh and guttural sound of the ghostly language was hard on mortal ears, but most of the time they didn't even register when they switched between languages. If they did, it might've sounded odd to hear the jazzy song being played out in harsh Ghoulish in contrast to the mortal tones of the living. Sam often said that to her Ghoulish made it sound like he was possessed, which was rather ironic considering.

_Efil si doog no edis fo eht toshg enoz!  
Won, efil si doog no edis fo eht toshg enoz!  
Os emoclew ot eht doohrehtorb  
Erehw uoy t'now eb dootsrednusim  
Efil si doog no edis fo eht toshg enoz!  
Os emoclew ot eht doohrehtorb  
Erehw uoy t'now eb dootsrednusim  
Efil si doog no edis fo eht toshg enoz!  
T'nia ti eht tseb? GNOL EVIL EHT DAED!_

* * *

Some time later, Dan found himself playing fetch in the gym with Cujo as the juniors scattered themselves about, now tired from their day of rule breaking and fun. Behind him, Steve played basketball by himself, shooting hoops and making unwanted commentary with every shot as they others lounged on the bleachers. "…Ten seconds—clock it ticking. Uh, dekes left, dekes right. Palchuck for the win!" Steve panted only to shoot and miss the hoop. "Oh! Jim fouls him! Boo Jim! Boo!"

"So is it true? Did you guys _really_ steal Señor Uhl's truck?" Mary asked from where she lay along the bleachers, nibbling at the box of popcorn in front of her.

 _"_ _Technically,_ we didn't steal it" Toby began, "We were just, uh…uh…"

"Yeah, uh were—" Claire stammered.

"—Guys, this town is a snoozefest" Jim interjected, clearly lying out of his ass. "Nothing ever happens here. What else did they expect us to do? Read a book? I mean, c'me on!'

"What about you, Mare?" Claire turned to her friend.

"My only crime was love" Mary replied dreamily. "Ms Janeth caught me making out under the bleachers with Tight Jeans Hank"

"Why would you make out with someone from our rival school?" Eli despaired as Steve flew overhead on one of the dangly ropes and slammed face first into the backboard at the other end of the room.

"He's forbidden fruit" Mary replied, chucking a piece of popcorn at the bespectacled boy. "You wouldn't understand"

"Is there _anyone_ you _haven't_ kissed?" Steve laughed.

"Jealous?" She scoffed, tossing another piece in the blonde's direction.

"What about you?" Claire defended Mary, "What freshman did you beat up to wind up here?"

"What? What makes you think I beat someone up, huh?" Steve retorted, now spinning the ball on his finger. "Ever consider maybe I'm not just a bully? That maybe I can be a good guy?"

"Says the student currently serving detention" Jim sassed.

"Burn!" Toby laughed alongside the others.

"I don't know why we have to be so mean to each other" Shannon spoke up for the first time that day. "Y'know, everyone goes through stuff, so we act out. Only reason we're here is 'cause we weren't smart enough to get away with it. We should be nicer—I mean, who're we kidding? None of us are perfect, the least we can do is be honest for once. Maybe then we can help each other out, y'know? Make this world tolerable"

"What're you in here for?" Claire puzzled after that endearing speech.

"Embezzlement. Apparently there are limits to my power as Student Body Treasurer"

"Hey! Hey! What about you, Masters?" Eli turned to the quiet senior they had more or less forgotten about during the day.

"Hm?" Dan hummed, glancing over towards the bleachers where the others were gathered, whilst he shook off the slobber-covered tennis ball and Cujo begged for it to be thrown again.

"What you get detention for?"

"Er, Cujo followed me into class" He replied, launching the ball towards the other end of the hall which was soon joined by said ghost dog bounding after it, much to the delight of the others there. "West is allergic to fur and puffed up like a toad"

"West?" Mary piped up, suddenly interested. "As in Emille West, the gorgeous French exchange student?"

"I guess…?"

"And you nearly killed him?!"

"I wasn't planning on it, no" Dan replied as Cujo returned in much the same fury as he had left, only this time the tennis ball was now firmly clenched between his teeth and soaked in drool. "Eurgh! How can such a tiny dog produce so much drool?" Dan murmured as he bent to retrieve the object of desire once more.

"Oh! It's almost 3pm!" Mary suddenly jerked upright when she caught sight of the clock on the opposite wall. "We better head back to class before Uhl returns!"

"…I only know lows! I don't know highs!" Steve whined as they collectively gathered their things (sans rubbish) and made their way back to the classroom. Dan pocketed the tennis ball and whistled for Cujo to follow him. It didn't take long for the detention class to return to the hallway in which both the bathroom and classroom sat.

"Where'd he go?" Eli despaired as they all bent to peer under the toilet stalls from the doorway.

"Quick! Back to class!" Mary agreed.

Running down the hallway, they barely made it to the turn before the classroom when another obstacle made itself apparent. Steve, who had been in the lead, was the one to call them to a halt flinging his arm up at just the right height to stop Eli from going any further and getting them into trouble. And just in time too, for there right in front of one of the air vents sat Señor Uhl with a carton of milk that he was gulping down like his life depended on it. Dan scooped up Cujo and slapped a hand over his muzzle in an effort to keep the pup quiet enough for them to slip to by. They could see the classroom from where they were standing, but it was unlikely that they were going to be to make it without going the long way around. "How're we s'posed to get to the classroom now?" Shannon worried as they practically glued themselves to the lockers.

"We can cut through the cafeteria!" Toby replied, starting to make his escape before Mary pulled him back.

"Wait—! Where's Jim?" Puzzled Mary.

"Jim's probably already there" Claire replied, "C'me on!"

This time it was Dan who led the way back to the cafeteria which had been cast into darkness upon leaving it earlier in the day. A few pots and pans remained in the sink, waiting to be washed and the stench from the rubbish bin would make anyone gag. Crawling through the dark was much easier for the elder boy if only because his eyes practically glowed and so when Cujo inevitably wiggled free at the same time Uhl entered from the rear door, Dan felt his stomach drop to his shoes as he hoped the Spanish teacher would completely miss his energetic and curious dog.

"Cujo!" Dan hissed from where he sat crouched by the end of a kitchen counter and peered around far enough to see his green dog happily sitting there in the bright hallway beyond the cafeteria. Although the door had slammed shut upon Uhl's arrival, it mattered not as Dan's ghostly vision allowed him to see through objects like it was x-ray vision, at least for a little bit. It wasn't something he was comfortable or completely efficient at using and so, didn't.

"Get down!" Toby quietly called from behind him as Uhl rushed for the fridge in search of more milk. The burrito really seemed to have done a number on him. "Oh! Oh! Oh! Milk! Milk! Where do they keep the milk? Ah-ha!" The light from the fridge illuminated the panting man, casting just enough light for the students to see by, but not before Dan took full advantage of the dark and slipped into his invisibility and intangibility like it was an old suit.

Once no longer visible nor touchable, the elder teen rose to his feet and quietly floated towards the closed door and the bright hallway beyond. Of course, no sooner had he cleared the cafeteria, did Cujo take off again likely thinking they were playing some sort of game of tag. "Cujo!" He hissed, floating after him. "Cujo! Come back here!" So intent on his task, Dan barely took notice of the battling trolls and the armoured Jim in the hallway, instead flying straight through them and leaving behind a trail of cold spots in his wake. Not that that was really something he could control, ghosts always left cold spots in the mortal realm, no matter how powerful they were.

Thankfully, with the help of a few underhanded tricks with the tennis ball he was able to get Cujo to come back close enough for Dan to scoop up the wiggling pup and stuff him inside his jacket, with his head poking out beneath his chin. Down the hallway, he could hear the sounds of battle just beginning to register and pondered on what to do. Before he could however, the sound of Uhl's berating voice echoed out overtop of the din and Dan was reminded of his urgency.

All around him, the upper half of the hallway was littered with a few of the orbs that had accompanied Ember earlier in the day. Ember had disappeared long ago, intent on making it to some music festival somewhere in the Ghost Zone, but not all of her groupies had gone with her. Coming across a few of the straggling orbs, his first instinct was to trap them inside the Fenton Thermos (which he did not have on him) before another idea came to mind. "Yeh, syug!" Dan began, easily slipping into the muttered Ghoulish. "Ohw stnaw ot valp a emag?"

* * *

As luck would have it, Dan was able to make it back to the classroom mere seconds before the others did. Not enough time to return Cujo to his van (and he didn't trust his duplication to hold long enough to do so), he was forced to flop into a spare seat with green dog hidden inside his jacket. In the time it took for the others to get resettled in any available seat and appear as natural as possible (with Dan pushing Cujo's head back inside his jacket every so often), Jim—harried and windswept—had returned, snatching a pencil and sharpener from a nearby desk as Uhl slammed the door open, making them all jump.

"WHERE'S LAKE?" Uhl demanded, accusatorially pointing at those back in their seats. Dan just hoped that Cujo understood enough to keep quiet until they were able to leave.

"Right here, Señor Uhl" Jim replied, kicking the door shut with his foot. "Just need to sharpen my pencil…"

"I heard screaming and fighting. WHICH OF YOU LEFT THE ROOM?!"

"We didn't hear anything" Shannon was the first to lie, barely glancing up at the teacher least he saw the makeover she now sported.

"You told us to stay here" Toby agreed.

"…If no one is going to come forward" Uhl prowled amongst the desks with arms crossed and expression stern. "Then _all_ of you will detention NEXT WEEK! Ah, Mr Pepperjack" He stopped next to the nervous nerd whose leg refused to remain still and eyes kept flitting between teacher, class and textbook. "You are a smart young boy with a promising future. Possibly no detention next week"

"Mmnn" Eli hummed, biting his nails as everyone waited with bated breath for the boy's answer.

"Who left the room?"

"…Nobody?"

_"_ _What?"_

"You said we weren't s'posed to get out of our seats!"

"So, you kids think you can take me for a fool? Well, y'know what? I have proof! Come with me. Now!"

"Nngh!" The students groaned in unison as they reshuffled themselves so that they could pack away their things and follow Uhl out into the hallway where his 'proof' awaited them.

The proof as it turned out, was a block of lockers damaged beyond repair with a dead mole spray-painted across the top of them in bright red paint. On the wall atop the lockers lay a message written in oozing green: _ERAWEB EHT AFLAH!_ Dan winced at the Ghoulish message, even though he knew the others could understand it; and to top it all off, the cold spot in which the orbs had created left the others littered with goosebumps and rattling teeth. Dan just hoped they brushed it off as paranoia or nervousness at staring possible punishment in the face.

"WHO DID THIS?" Uhl demanded, pointing to the masterpiece.

"Looks to me like a prank from our school rivals" Steve replied, really hamming up the indignant response. "I _hate_ Arcadia Oaks Academy!"

"Probably Tight Jeans Hank" Mary agreed, barely glancing up from her phone. "He was pretty P-Oed when I called it off"

"I 'unno" Dan hummed whilst the trio of Claire, Toby and Jim smiled ever so innocently in a how-would-we-know kind of way.

"Very well, you may go" Uhl sighed, dismissing them much to their relief. So much so that Steve held no qualms about ruffling Eli's hair in full view of the others as they left serenaded by Uhl's upset gut, Cujo's muffled barks and their own laughter.


	4. Lost Souls or Fated Meetings

The last place Dan expected to find himself was the remnants of Troll Market with Griddle at his shoulder, invisibility around him like a cloak and the Fenton Thermos in hand. Over the years he had more or less given up the superhero career, instead taking on more of a neutral Reaper role that had him guiding souls to the Ghost Zone if they died with regrets, preventing them from passing on. The Fenton Thermos which had once been a prison for the worst types of ghosts imaginable, was now a ferry that allowed him to carry these lost souls about until he could find a natural portal gate to deposit them into.

It wasn't always as thrill seeking as being a superhero had been, but he no longer had to explain away mysterious bruises or lie about where he had been (although that may have more to do with the fact that he no longer had parents/siblings to report to). He also wasn't a child who saw the world through only black and white lenses. There was no good versus evil, just people who thought themselves to be the heroes of their own stories. It also explained why his 'enemies' never really attempted (more than once) to attack him as Fenton and not Phantom.

Griddle's stories held no candle to the light that was Troll Market, Dan was coming to find and in the worst way possible. Great glorious geodes of various colours glowing electrically beneath the earth had instead been replaced with dull grey and dead crystals that crumbled beneath your touch or even a bump of your shoulder. Dullness swept across the market save for a few spaces where lights had been hung up to illuminate the way like the gladiatorial ring off to the right and the library deeper inside. From what Griddle had told Dan, there had once been a day where the market had shone so bright you had to squint to see and the Heartstone shone so brilliantly that there was nothing you could do to block it out. But now? Inky black veins crept up the beloved rock, dulling its brilliance and in turn, slowly poisoning that which remained within the market.

Dan watched from the corner of his eyes as Griddle sadly mourned the lives of his friends and family who had outlived him by only so much. He watched as that sorrow shifted to anger and rage at the blackened soldiers— _"By Deya's grace! Gumm-Gumms in Troll Market!"—_ who littered the cavernous shelves and wandered between the abandoned buildings like mindless zombies and back again. After collecting the latest lost soul, Dan moved gently around the stone body in which it had come from, barely taking not at the odd angle it had crumbled into. It wasn't the most pleasant of jobs but it had to be done and by doing so, Dan felt that he was atoning for all the things he had done as a young superhero, especially when he had first been starting out.

"Young Phantom or is it Masters now?" Croaked a familiar voice, pulling Dan from his thoughts and away from Griddle who stood seething at a pair of Gumm-Gumms.

"Clockwork?" Dan puzzled, turning to the ancient master of time. "What're you doing topside?"

"I come with an important task for you, boy" Clockwork intoned in a rather grandfatherly tone, hands clasped over the top of his staff which was currently acting like a cane. "It must be completed with the utmost haste"

"Er, sure, what is it?" Dan's eyes trailed over the long beard that hung down below his knees as the elderly ghoul spoke. Despite popular belief, ghosts and ghouls didn't _always_ use Ghoulish, in fact the majority of them used whichever language they had spoken in life. But the guttural language was their mothertongue and so all instinctively knew it upon death, particularly as it was a way to bridge whatever gap there may be between ecto-beings.

"A new soul has joined our brethren—"

"—Yeah, there's been a fair few tonight" Dan used the thermos to gesture at the bodies littered about them.

"—Don't interrupt"

"Sorry"

"As I was saying, a new soul has joined our brethren but Fate has other plans for it. You must find this soul and return it to its body before the cord is severed forever"

"Uh, right now?"

"Do you not understand the word 'haste' boy?"

"No—no, I do, sorry I, er, who—who is it? This new soul?"

"Claire Nuñez" And with that, Clockwork vanished as if he had never been there. Dan rolled his eyes at theatrics. Despite being this all-powerful master of time, Clockwork _never_ dirtied his own hands by directly meddling with the timeline, instead manipulating others to do so. It had been rather frustrating in the beginning, particularly when he didn't know what was going on. Actually, to be honest, it was still rather frustrating now.

But with that command in mind, Dan called out to Griddle who was still staring off into the distance with barely concealed rage & eyes bleeding red and told him what was happening. In turn, he pulled the Booo-merang from his back pocket and programmed it to find the soul in question. Another one of his family's inventions the appropriately named boomerang was something that he had taken before he left more so that his friends and family couldn't track him so easily with it. The whole point in leaving was to keep them _safe_ and he couldn't do that if they were tracking him halfway across the dimensions.

Following after the Booo-merang, Dan eventually found the little soul orb nestled between the branches of an outcropping tree far above the gathered cheering trolls who had somehow survived whatever had happened in the market. If Dan had to hazard a guess, it probably had something to do with the traces of magic crackling around Claire's soul. Princess Dorathea had told him once that that was common for magical folk—witches in particular—stating that magic wound its way through your very being and so it would only make sense to find it interwoven with your soul when you died.

Admittedly, it did take a few tries to yank the soul free from the tree before he could hold it properly in his hands. Dan always liked new souls, they were warm in his cool hands and not yet cold like the freshly deceased bodies they had emerged from. Sometimes you could feel a faint heartbeat inside like it was still alive and they looked like crystal tadpoles that held everything that made you, you. "And here I thought I was the one who was suicidal maniac" He murmured, tracing the intricate engravings decorating the exterior of the orb and watched as the magic danced across his fingers making him feel electrically alive. "I wouldn't recommend doing that again, little one"

"Claire!" Jim gasped, suddenly bolting from where he had collapsed against a kind-faced troll with several extra limbs and eyes. _"Claire!_ Aaarrrggh! Is she—?"

"…" There was no reply from the hulking mossy troll that held her body, although despair was clearly written across his face.

"No—! _Claire!"_ Jim's knees buckled and he collapsed next to the girl with tears streaming down his face like little waterfalls. After pocketing the Booo-merang once more, Dan descended into the mess of giant trolls who easily towered over him and weeping humans as he made his way over to Claire's body.

"Jim—! Jim! Look!" Toby gasped wetly, pointing towards where Dan stood with Claire's soul tucked into his hands. Still cloaked in invisibility, he knew that the sight must've looked like something out of a fairy tale or a horror movie with the little glowing orb floating through the air and back towards the body from whence it came.

"Wha—?" Jim blearily glanced up as what little light illuminated him in a violet glow. "Cl-Claire? Is—is that you?"

Dan barely restrained himself from smacking away the hand reaching out to touch the soul as he lowered it towards her chest. Just barely. Souls were pure things and it didn't take much to corrupt them, no matter how power hungry or humble the person may have been in life. Sparing a glance down at his feet, Dan noticed that once again his emotions had affected his powers (as they always did) and a small patch of ice had form on the grass around him. Not enough to kill the grass or those around him, mind you, but just enough to send the juniors reeling back at the sudden coldness he had subconsciously emitted. It wasn't much, just enough to give him enough breathing room to insert Claire's soul back into her body.

As if watching in slow motion, the soul lowered down with his hands and seeped into her clothes, then flesh and then bones before returning to the hole in which it had first settled. His mint hands were pressed against her chest, awaiting with bated breath and hoping that the cord between soul and body was still intact. A hush had fallen over the crowd by this point and Dan was sure you'd have heard a pin drop like thunder even against the mildewy grass. Thankfully they didn't have to wait long before Claire began to cough and splutter, eyes blearily peeling open and head rolling towards those around her. Dan wasn't sure if she had noticed him or not, but from what he could understand those that _did_ see them upon waking often referred to them as 'guardian angels'.

"Did—did we d-die?" Claire croaked, her voice hoarse as Dan floated upwards just in time for others to take his place. As much as Dan enjoyed the new souls, watching someone awaken from a near-death experience was just as good if not better.

"Almost" Aaarrrggh replied, cradling Claire close enough that she was all but nestled into his fur.

"But a life of 'almost' is a life of never!" Toby laughed hysterically as if in doing so, he'd be able to avoid bawling. Not that that didn't stop the tears gathering in his eyes. "WE MADE IT!"

"Claire!" Jim breathed, pulling the brunette to her feet and into a tight hug where he buried his head into her shoulder. "I thought I lost you…"

"I'm here Jim" Claire returned the hug, clinging to his cyan armour. "I'm alive"

"YEAH! WOOHOO!" Eli cheered from atop the sewer tunnels, going so far as to jump off the top where he would've splattered against the ground if not for Steve's fast reflexes.

"Thanks guys" Jim acquiesced, loosening his hold on Claire just enough so that he could turn and speak to his peers. Relief was replaced by amusement as he watched Steve manhandled Eli like a little brother, hauling him back onto the sewer tunnel but remained gripping tight to the back of his shirt like he was worried he jump off again. "I owe ya"

"Yeah, you owe us, big time" Steve grinned.

"Maybe you can start by answering a few thousand questions?" Eli proposed.

"We'll talk. Later" Jim retorted.

"Yes!" Both Steve & Eli chorused, fist-bumping in delight.

"Our home is gone and Vendel is dead. Who will lead us now?" Sighed a troll that Griddle excitedly referred to as 'Blinky the librarian' who stared out upon the masses of trolls with unbound hopelessness. Jim finally removed himself from Claire (after much prodding from the girl and insistence that she was truly all right) and approached Blinky with a wonky-looking and oddly decorated staff in hand that he could barely hold even with his own two hands. "His staff?"

 _"Your_ staff" Jim amended, offering it to him.

"Master Jim—!" Blinky backed off, all four arms in the air and hesitance in his eyes. Looking around though, you could see the respect this troll wielded just by how the others bowed to him without question.

"Don't make it weird" Aaarrrggh commented, pushing Blinky to picky up the staff with his own four hands and cradle it close like a long lost memento of a loved one.

"What now, Blink?" Toby asked as both he and Claire joined Jim at his side, linking their hands with his.

"We survived another day" Blinky replied, thinking aloud as he went "But these forests are not secure. We will wait until midnight and seek out a safe haven. Gunmar will not give up and he'll have an army…"

* * *

The next time Dan met up with the Trollhunters gang was several weeks later when he had found Claire passed out in the woods mere meters from one of the many campgrounds around Arcadia. In her hands lay a staff that she was desperately clinging to and from the look of her bruised and battered bare feet, he could only assume she had been sleepwalking (also evident by the rumpled pyjamas she wore). Ever so carefully, Dan had picked her up and carried her back to his van since he had no clue where she lived nor how to explain her current state. Somehow he didn't think that Councilwoman Nuñez would be so understanding no matter his story. Thankfully his futon bed folded out into a double and so they were both able to easily fit inside with enough room for Cujo to wiggle his way under the covers.

Placing her in the bed was another task in of itself and took a few tries to get her in. Honestly he was just surprised he didn't wake her. Not wanting to receive whichever wrath he may face in the morning, Dan took the time to scribble out a message on a sticky note (rereading it a few times to make sure that he hadn't written in Ghoulish) before he stuck it to her forehead and climbed in next to her. Falling asleep with another body beside him (excluding Cujo) felt odd at first, after being alone for so long but Dan soon got used to it and tears gathered in his eyes as he was reminded of the days when he would sleep with Jazz when he had a nightmare or sleepovers with his friends that ended with them lumping together in a dog pile of messy limbs and wayward blankets.

* * *

_Claire,_

_Don't freak out! Found you passed out in the woods, think you might've been sleepwalking. You seemed okay—bandaged your feet for ya—but take it easy anyway. Toilets are located in the green building to the right. Payphone is under the lamp, next to the map—you may wanna call someone & let them know where you are. Extra change is in the flower pot._

_—Dan_

_P.S. The green lump on your feet is my dog, Cujo. He'll just lick ya to death._

_P.P.S. Watch your step when you get out, there's a bit of a lip._

* * *

When Dan next awoke it was to the sound of someone banging rather rudely on his side door in the wee hours of the morning (the sun hadn't even risen yet!). "Hm?" He blinked blearily as he opened the sliding door after scrambling out of bed and around Claire who had curled herself around Cujo much to his delight. He was well aware of the state of his bed hair and mismatching pyjamas, but paid them no mind. Before him stood Jim and Blinky both looking rather concerned as they tried to peer inside _Amity._

"Where's Claire?" Jim demanded as Dan's eyes wandered over to the pair just beyond their shoulders who were poking their noses into one of the natural ghost portals he'd discovered in Arcadia. It took far longer than he would care to admit for him to register what they were doing and when he did, he rocketed from the van and ghosted through the pair before him in his haste to reach Toby and Aaarrrggh.

"Hey! _Hey!"_ Dan hissed, ignoring the shocked looks and suppressed shudders from the pair behind him as he did his best not to wake the other campers. "Get away from that!" Toby, it appeared, had a death wish as he curiously stuck his whole hand inside the small green portal much to Dan's chagrin. See, the thing was whilst the dead could move between the Mortal Zone and the Ghost Zone with relative ease, whenever a mortal tried to do so they would die slowly and painfully unless otherwise abated. Sam and Tucker were the only two outliers that Dan knew of to this rule; he suspected that because they were within close proximity the two times his parents' Ghost Portal exploded with him inside, they must've absorbed some residual ectoplasm. Not enough to completely rewrite their DNA, mind you, but just enough so that they didn't die horribly within the Ghost Zone. "Oi! Domzalski! I'm talking to you!"

Yanking the pudgy boy away from the portal, Dan quickly set about inspecting him for any malformations or deformities that were common with idiots whose curiosity often got the better of them concerning the Ghost Portals. Skeletal fingers and toes were the most common sign—a disturbing symptom where your flesh & muscles turned translucent and showed the bone like a real-life x-ray. "Wha—wha ith it?" Toby asked around the fingers in his mouth and upon noticing the grim expression on Dan's face as he manhandled him.

The halfa didn't reply, just gripped the junior by his waist and hauled him back to the van. Despite his short stature, Dan was able to easily heft Toby up under his arm like a sack of potatoes as he made his way back over to _Amity_ with a disgruntled troll on his heels. Upon popping _Amity's_ trunk, Dan found Jim had clambered inside and was talking in hushed whispers with Claire who had awakened at some point. A smirk played at his lips when he noted how they both jumped at the sudden reveal and deposited Toby on the end of the bed next to them.

Bookended by Aaarrrggh and Blinky, Dan plucked the needed ingredients from the various compartments beneath the bed as he set about cooking up the alchemic potion Frostbite had taught him long ago. "What—what are you doing?" Toby queried as he watched Dan slice up the redwood bark into neat strips before depositing them into the kettle where it sat waiting on the cooktop next to his feet.

"Fixing an idiot who doesn't know when to stop poking a Ghost Portal" Dan replied absently, moving onto the frozen raspberries. "Seriously, why would you keep poking something that'll kill you?"

"K-kill me? _Am I gonna die?"_

"Not yet" Dan reassured him as he slapped on a pair of elbow length industrial gloves and full face gas mask just so he could pull free a few of the dried blood blossom petals that lay wrapped tight inside a locked, airtight container.

"Is that even safe?" Claire warily eyed Dan's get up as Toby scrambled backwards across the bed and away from the supposedly dangerous substances clenched between tong claws. Dan didn't reply for a moment, instead taking the time to crush up the petals with gritted and pained teeth before adding them to the kettle and shutting the lid. "Well? Is it?"

"It's fine, completely safe for mortals" Dan eventually replied, wincing slightly as he pulled off all of the safety accoutrement from his self and tucked them away in their various places. "I just can't touch it. Actually, I hear they taste like sherbet"

"I—I—you were there" Claire stammered, stumbling over her words in an effort to get them out over the deafening silence. Clearly she'd had something on her mind for a while—possibly whatever she and Jim had been discussing when they had returned.

"Hm?" Dan hummed, jerking an eyebrow in question.

"With Gunmar. You put me back—I died and you put me—my soul back into my body!"

"You remember that? Odd, most people don't"

"Ghost? Souls? Mortal?" Blinky blinked, brows furrowed at the wording the halfa had used. "Wait—! Don't tell me! You're not…?"

"Er, it's complicated" Dan brushed off with a shrug as he spared a glance over his shoulder at the six-eyed troll before turning back to the whistling kettle. "Here, drink this" He handed Toby a cup of steaming liquid, hissing slightly in pain when some of it escaped from the cup and landed on his hand.

"What is it?" Toby warily accepted the cup.

"Medicine. Drink"

"You still haven't answered any of our questions!" Jim huffed indignantly, a protective hand clasped tightly with Claire's as Toby sipped from the cup. "And what about earlier? Wha about those powers?"

"Powers? What powers?" Dan replied, completely stone-faced to the trio of disbelieving expressions before him. "You see something funny here? Nothing anyone would believe if you told 'em"

Jim's face fell into something a little more pensive as he tried to figure out whether or not the halfa was just telling them a bald-faced lie, bullshitting them or blatantly ignoring who he was. "Look" Dan sighed, running a hand through his messy locks. "Things are complicated, okay? Just leave it at that" Because how was he supposed to explain to a junior how he was a half-human half-ghost runaway that had been stuck at 17 years old for the past nine year-end was being hunted by the Guys in White all because he held ectoplasm in his DNA? Yeah, that would go down well.

* * *

Later that day found Dan meandering across the school courtyard on the way to his next class when he spotted Douxie Casper—another senior from their rival school Arcadia Oaks Academy—standing in the middle of the courtyard and surrounded by a gaggle of swooning girls. The story behind their meeting was an odd one; one that involved the mage entrapping him inside a barrier in the hopes to either perform and exorcism for repel him from the mortal plane. None of which had resulted in success, only in Cujo deciding to swallow both mage and familiar before he was told to spit them out.

"…C-Bomb, was it?" Douxie smoothly handed back the books Claire had dropped when she had woven her way through the small crowd. "Consider me blown away, because you are nuclear"

"So, uh…" Jim hastily joined Claire at her side as she chuckled softly at the compliment and blushed brightly at the attention. "What brings you to our humble school? And what'll it take to send you back?"

"The _Battle of the Bands_ is coming up" Douxie replied pulling out a flyer for the event which he hand to Claire, mischief swimming in his eyes at Jim's blatant jealousy. " _Ash Dispersal Pattern_ , that's my band, will be crushing it. But we're encouraging others to give it a shot"

"Didn't you open up for _Papa Skull_ at the Boxtop?" Claire gasped. "You were sick!"

"Well, it looks like I'm not the only one" Douxie chuckled as Claire ended with a sneeze.

"Claire!" Darcy appeared at her right, sliding in and pushing jealous little Jim out of the picture. "We should enter!"

"We could be a cover band!" Mary added, coming in from the left. "Call ourselves…Oh! Oh! _Mama Skull!"_

"I don't know" Jim suddenly burst through and snatched the flyer from Claire's hand before slamming it back against Douxie's chest in irritation. He may as well have been drawn a line between the two with the way he was marking his territory. "Y'know, really? Mama Skull? I don't know, I don't know. I mean, it's the end of the school year and we're already pretty booked up with all those after school activities"

 _"Actually"_ Claire vindictively snatched the flyer back from Jim. "A _friend_ of mine told me, I need more balance"

"Count us in!" Mary cheered.

"Ka-boom!" Darcy cried, throwing her arms wide.

"Shotgun on vocals!"

"I look forward to seeing you again, fair Lady Claire" Douxie farewelled before sauntering off.

"12th Century wizard, my ass!" Dan muttered under his breath with a roll of his eyes, before moving on with the warning bell playing in his ears.


	5. Bounty Hunters or Ghost Hunters

It seemed that the newest attraction in Arcadia this week wasn't the hordes of trolls roaming the streets at night nor the countless lost souls harbouring past regrets, but the latest additions to the sleepy town. The new kids on the block, Aja & Krel Tarron were a pair of Europeans who had moved to the town under dubious circumstances or so the rumours went. Whispers had been flying since their arrival, mostly mentioning their odd behaviour and mannerisms that stood out even amongst trolls and ghosts. A fair few of the rumours centred around Aja's attractiveness & general badassery whilst those concerning Krel leant more towards his off-the-charts intelligence. Most of the (bitter) people thought that he was cheating, especially those who felt like he shouldn't know those type of things which was weird. Dan knew he hadn't attended school in a long time, but surely learning hadn't gone out of style _that_ quickly, right?

Speaking of which, Dan had had the pleasure of meeting the oddball siblings for first the time when he took Cujo for a walk some days prior. The little ghost dog had been released from his leash and had taken full advantage of the freedom by rocketing through the undergrowth that bordered the dog park, chasing squirrels and other small rodents that dared to venture there. At some point the mutt had come across the Tarron's dog—a fluff ball of a corgi—and proceeded to slobber him to death before moving onto the blonde. Dan did not envy them one bit.

Aja had been rather cheerful about the whole thing, happily rolling in the dirt with both dogs as they played tug-of-war with a large branch one of them had picked up at some point. Dan had worried that Cujo would morph into his larger counterpart when the play got a bit too rough, even though he knew that the dog knew to keep their civilian visage up in public. He was a lot smarter than Dan often gave him credit for after all.

Krel on the other hand, had shared in Dan's disgust at the display of copious amounts of shared slobber between the three, before he retreated to the bandstand where his grandfather sat playing a rather intense game of chess with the other grandparents. There was a lot of maniacal laughter and declarations of domination that sounded from that area which made him think they were playing something closer to battleship or Monopoly than chess.

Physically shaking the thoughts from his mind, Dan returned to the grill in front of him as the scent of burnt onions wafted towards him much to Stuart's (his boss) chagrin from where he sat at the till. _El Guerito's Tacos_ didn't have many employees, if any—Stuart liked to brag that he was a family-run business, but without the 'family' part. Or the 'business' part. Really, it was more of a side hustle that accompanied his second-hand electronic store over on Delancey Street next to the cinema. And even then, the store was more of a place to store his hoard of vintage electronics that no one really had any use for anymore (aside from the Fine Arts of Film students). Despite this, the colourfully painted taco truck was a popular feature amongst students in particular. With cheap prices, pretty good food (if he did say so himself) and friendly service, what's not to like? Well, maybe Stuart's penchant for being extra gassy to the point where Dan often wondered if the stoves were powered by propane or methane gas. Seriously, what did that man _eat?_

With practised movements, Dan packed the tortilla full of the greasiest ingredients within reach and wrapped it tight inside a blanket of foil before handing it off to the pudgy man and onto the waiting customer. The spice shelf above his head held the only source of entertainment that let the ghostly teen retain his sanity during his work shifts; a busted old radio with a bent antenna and peeling paint. The thing barely played the two old fogey channels before the FM and AM knobs got stuck or crackling static played throughout the tin can truck. Dan suffered through it if only so he didn't have to listen to _another_ one of Stuart's back-in-my-day stories or tin-foil-hat conspiracy theories; they sure got tedious after a while—and he was part ghost!

Emerald eyes drifted from the busted machinery to the Wall of Shame & the Wall of Fame that sat above the grill. Reading from left to right, you could watch how the customers tried and oft times failed to build up a tolerance to the spices of their dishes; the _Diablo Maximus_ being one of them. Of course, Toby was up there—one picture per day for three years—he had his very own section with a gold star on the 'winning' picture. Going through them all was like watching a delightfully painful movie or animation play out before your eyes. Dan could see why the boy was not only a valued customer, but one of Stuart's favourites—1095 days of torture just to build up the tolerance to successfully eat one bite of the burrito? That took some serious dedication.

"…Who's the king? I'm the king!" Steve rasped, the sounds of his choking on his burrito pulled Dan from his thoughts. Peering through one of the many (lightly) painted windows, he watched dumbfounded as Krel—slim, non-threatening Krel—strode up to the broad blonde and slapped his meal from his hand like a cat swiping a bird from the air. Over his shoulder, Aja appeared apprehensive but for her brother or the blonde, Dan couldn't fathom.

"What's new kid doing?!" Mary gasped, rightly questioning the boy's actions.

"What the—?" Steve breathed.

"I command you to reveal your true form!" Krel demanded, stabbing Steve with his finger.

"Do you wanna die, buttsnack?" Steve retorted, grabbing Krel by his shirt and Dan worried that he would have to go out there and split them apart. God knows Stuart wouldn't and even though Dan could do so easily, Steve was still taller than him by a head or two (which constantly irked the ghost boy) making it hard for him to get a good hit in without permanently hurting or maiming the boy.

"What is a 'buttsnack'?" Krel puzzled inches away from Steve.

The needed intervention was starting to look more and more likely, as Steve swung a punch at Krel who easily danced out of the way much to Steve's chagrin. Dan spared a glance towards Stuart whose eyes were currently glued to the squabble like he was watching a pro wrestling match on TV. Dan rolled his eyes and prepared to disembark from the back door. "Oi! You two! Cut it out!" Dan called hanging out from the back door, still unwilling to leave the taco truck. It wasn't that he was scared per se, not of Steve at least. But there was always a sense of wariness and paranoia that settled over him in times of combat, especially in recent times. Nothing happened without it being taped by someone these days and who knew what would happen if footage got out of him fighting? The GIW would track him down faster than you could say 'dead meat' and that's not even counting all the amateur ghost hunters who had popped up over the years since the _Ectoplasm Bill_ was passed. There was no need to sugarcoat it, the Government may as well have just said that (paid) murder was on the table now. Just because they were dead, doesn't mean they were _dead,_ y'know?

It seemed that Dan's pitiful attempt at breaking up the fight, was just that, pitiful. But it's not like Stuart's attempts were any better, in fact, if anything the remaining teens were encouraged to pull out their phones and film the whole thing just as Dan had feared. "Ooh! I can't not watch!" Mary gushed, phone trained on the two.

"Ha! Knock him back to wherever he came from, Steve!" Seamus called, bitterness and jealousy evident in his tone.

"Delete your mouth, Seamus!" Mary elbow-checked the Irish boy back onto the ground behind her, and he cowered under her glare. Dan couldn't help but grin at the action. No one could contradict Mary Wang, she was a force to be reckoned with.

"RAAAH!" Steve growled as he charged at Krel and pinned him to the side of the taco truck with enough force to rock it slightly. Dan stumbled over his feet at the motion and just barely hung onto the back door as he tried to regain his footing. "Keep still, so I can punch your face in!"

"…Oh no, Krel, it's not him!" Aja piped up after fiddling with her glasses. "I was wrong! He _is_ an idiot!"

"It seems there's been a misunderstanding here" Krel stated as much as he could with his face pressed against the side of the truck. "My apologies, you are just an idiot!"

"Oh yeah?" Steve hummed, refusing to let up on the boy. "Well, my fist is gonna misunderstand your face!"

"Misunderstand your face?" Dan muttered to himself as he joined Stuart by the cashier window as it seemed the pair weren't actually hurting each other, more like they were just peacocking around. "That doesn't even make sense"

"Krel! Rule number three!" Aja called.

"Rule number three?"

"Lights out, plebe!" Steve threatened when Krel whipped out his phone.

"Ugh! Oh!" Krel whimpered as the blonde delivered on his threat and punched Krel in the face. Dan blinked dumbly at the blonde like he couldn't believe he'd actually gone through with it. Usually Steve was all bark and no bite, like Dash Baxter had been. "I'm—I'm leaking fluid…what is this? I must be dying, is this the end?"

"Not yet!" Steve yanked Krel backed to his feet for another go around and Dan moved to intercept fully this time, but he was beaten to the punch by Aja who stepped in to protect her brother like a good sister.

"Get away from little brother, snackbutt!" Aja pulled Steve back and quite literally kicked him to the curb.

This time, Dan was reminded of his own sister and those memories brought with them a tinge of sorrow. When Dan had first gone on the run, he had kept in (sparse) contact with Jazz. A few phone calls from a payphone here, a letter or two there; nothing that could be too easily tracked until one day he thought it would be a good idea to surprise her for her birthday. That was the idea at least. But when he had arrived, invisibly floating next to the window of her new apartment, he found her much sadder than their phone calls or letters ever let on. She had fallen asleep on her couch and Dan had snuck inside to pull the thick blanket over her as she had done for him many a-time.

There had been a flowery notebook sat idly on the table and well, it was his job as a younger brother to look—not to snoop, no, just have a little look. What he found, however, was much worse than whatever he could've dreamed of. It seemed that their little interactions took far more out of the ginger than Dan had previously thought. Where he had loved them—looked forward to them; Jazz had dreaded them. Her equally flowery writing had told just how much she hated pretending like everything was alright, like they weren't falling apart at the seams. How she had to pretend that only hearing his voice was enough, how she had to pretend that holding onto one of his old shirts was all she needed to be happy. He knew then, that those little moments had to stop for her sake, no matter how much it hurt to let go. Dan could still remember how peaceful she looked fast asleep there on the couch even with those tears streaming down her cheeks; those tears that had matched his own.

**_VRROOOOM!_ **

"Whoa!" Dan suddenly lost his footing, the floor moving out from underneath him and was quickly jolted back into the real world as Stuart stepped on the gas & floored it away from the gathered teens.

"HEY!" Shannon's voice trailed in their wake. "WHAT ABOUT MY GUACAMOLE? I PAID EXTRA!"

"Stu?—Ack!—What's going on?" Dan cried as he wedged himself in the back doorway in an effort to stay upright even with the door banging around in the win and ingredients flying out of the truck, some eve hitting him on the way. Part of him was worried that the pair of siblings were somehow involved with the GIW (Stuart knew a little about the organisation; some from what Dan had told him and some from what he had put together on his own) and part of him was worried that the taco connoisseur had gone off of his rocker (again) about some crazy conspiracy theory involving ass-kicking teenagers.

"HOLD ON TIGHT!" Stuart flung over his shoulder as the truck careened around yet another corner sending more of the ingredients flying across the truck and coating the floor like it was the miscellaneous gunk from the cinema. Dan stood no chance as he was sent careening forward, all footholds on the backdoor lost as face met floor and he slid towards the pick-up window now fully covered in grease.

After so many wild twists and turns Dan was sure that Stuart was trying to kill them, especially when Dan found himself meeting the floor once more after several failed attempts to get his feet back underneath him. Having had enough of being tossed about the truck, Dan was about to grow his ghostly tail only to have the entire truck get lifted up by the bonnet and slammed back down to earth, bringing him along with it. Rocked around like a marble in a tin can, the halfa barely had any time to regain his senses when a calloused hand wrapped itself around this wrist and tugged him out of the upturned taco truck and scrambled outside where the two nearly crashed into the adjacent brick wall of the alleyway.

"Wha—?" Dan blinked dumbly, one hand cradling his head from where he headbutted the ovens during that rollercoaster of a ride. But he knew he would be fine, in fact he could already feel the headache fading all thanks to his enhanced healing factor.

"Halt!" Aja demanded as Stuart took off, dragging Dan along behind him. The ghost boy really should've been used to his boss' shenanigans by now. "By the order of House Tarron!"

"RUN YOU DISGRACEFUL COWARDS!" Their spry grandfather cried as all three Tarrons chased after them. "VARVATOS VEX WILL RAIN GLORIOUS DEATH ON ALL YOU HOLD DEAR!"

Now _that_ caught Dan's attention, solidifying the belief that these three were somehow connected to the GIW—why else would they be chasing them? Dan yanked his wrist from Stuart's grip, startling the man into letting him go just as the halfa spun on his heel moments before hitting the dead end. The sudden change of movement seemed to surprise the Tarrons if only for a moment, but it was all the time Dan needed to send a bolt of his renowned ghost ray towards the three with a swipe of his hands.

Dan planted himself firmly between Stuart and the Tarrons as his hands smoked and crackled with electric ectoplasm. The green substance ebbed and flowed between his clawed fingers, knees bent and eyes locked on to his targets before him with teeth grit in determination as he readied himself for the inevitable combat. Both siblings (who were picking themselves off of the floor) appeared shocked by his powers (however badly hidden) but Vex remained non-plussed, suggesting that whilst the kids had not known, he surely had at least some idea of what Dan could do. Or at the very least, he recognised the open, if not battle-ready stance Dan had fallen into.

"As—as the King-in-waiting of Akiridion-5, you are under arrest!" Krel decreed as both siblings suddenly transformed from their humans selves into something a little more blue and alien. In Dan's time as a halfa, he'd come across ghosts in all shapes and sizes, from all different walks—and planes—of life. Their little trick would not fool him.

"Netsil ereh, uoy elttil kcansttub! Llet em tahw uoy wonk fo eht suyG nI etihW dna ebyam ll'I eraps ruoy sevil!" Dan fired back, the Ghoulish somehow sounding both guttural and wailed at the same time, as was the tone of his mothertongue.

"What?" Aja puzzled, brow furrowing. "Stop speaking gibberish!"

"LLET EM!" Dan roared, baring his fangs and ectoplasmic fists clenching at his side. "RO ESLE!"

"Oh no…" Stuart squeaked from behind him. "Uh, Dan…?"

"Eno"

"Dan?"

"Owt"

"Daniel?"

"Eerht"

"Daniel!"

"Ojuc! Emoc!" Dan ordered, eyes narrowed on Vex who looked like he was willing to charge at them without a second's notice despite his frail body.

But at his call, his not-so-little green dog appeared as if pulled from thin air and grown in size. Thunderous growls sounded from Cujo as he stood over the three and great big pools of drool dripped down onto them.

"What in great Gaylan's name—?" Vex demanded, eyes flicking up to the jaws that bared down upon him. "Will this be a glorious death?"

"Varvatos!" Krel cried, spinning on his heel as the grandfatherly man was swallowed whole, although that didn't seem to stop him from trying to fight his way out if the muffled noises were anything to go by. "Release him!"

"As Queen-in-waiting, I order you to release Vex!" Aja demanded, weapon trained on Dan and eyes glistening.

"Ho uoy od, od uoy? Llet em tahw I tnaw ot wonk ro ruoy _rehtorb_ si txen!" Dan threatened, matching Aja step for step until the pair were but a few meters away from each other like snarling dogs protecting their territory.

"LEINAD SRETSAM!" Shouted Stuart, catching Dan's attention. The halfa cocked his head to the side, refusing to move lest the two in front attack but listened to his boss all the same. Even if he butchered the Ghoulish. "S'TAHT AJA DNA LREK NORRAT!"

"I wonk" Dan replied, eyes flickering between the remaining and wary pair. "Er'yeht WIG seips!"

"Hey! Speak up! What are you two conspiring about over there?" Krel demanded, standing tall.

"What? No, hey! Nothing like that!" Stuart stammered, hands waving frantically in the air as he was no doubt aware of the possible danger before him. "My Ghoulish is still pretty rusty, but uh, Dan wants to know if you two are spies for the…Guys in White? Is that right? The GIW?"

"…Sey"

"Yes, okay, cool"

"Yes?" Krel reiterated although it sounded more like a question.

"Yeht era?" Dan growled, his ghoulish fangs on full display.

"What? No—no—" Stuart stumbled over his own words.

"On, er'yeht ton?"

"No, uh, 'yes' to the right vernacular and 'no' to being spies"

"…Evorp ti"

"Um…"

"Now what?" Krel prodded.

"Uh…he wants you to prove it—prove that you're not related to the GIW"

"…And _how_ do you expect us to do that?" Aja started warily.

"We're clearly not fleshbags" Krel continued, "So what else is there?"

"Er…" Stuart blinked, his eyes flitting back and forth between the Tarrons and Dan. "Woh od uoy tnaw meht ot evorp ti?"

"…Ksa meht tahw deneppah no 24 rebmeced 2004" Dan paused for a moment before the Ghoulish request fell from his lips.

"Uh, Dan wants to know if _you_ know what happened on 24 December 2004?"

"What happened? Like here? On Earth?" Aja puzzled.

"Why would we care about some mudball dumpheap in the middle of nowhere?" Krel continued, still warily eyeing Cujo as Vex continued to struggle against his confines if the bulging of his maw was anything to go by.

"Rewsna!" Dan growled, eyes still narrowed at the pair.

"Um, he—he still wants to know"

"No—no" Aja shook her head as her weapon finally lowered and her stance relaxed just that little bit. "We didn't even know about Earth until a couple of days ago"

"…Really?" This time it was Dan who relaxed his stance, fists extinguished with a quiet hiss.

"Really"

"Hmm…fine"

"So…that's it?" Krel puzzled, head cocked in question as he blinked dumbly at the halfa's change in attitude. "Just like that?"

"Yeah" Dan replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "What were you expecting? Some kind of death rally?"

"Isn't that what bounty hunters do?"

"Bounty hunters? We're not bounty hunters—why would you even think that?"

"Your language it is not…?"

"You mean Ghoulish? No—no, I mean, it's my mothertongue…sort of, um, but not what you're thinking.

"But you're not human?" Aja piped up.

"Uh, not all the way, no" Dan replied, warily eyeing up Cujo's bulging gullet.

"I do not understand"

"It's complicated"

"So uncomplicate it" Stuart added his two cents. "Just rip the bandaid off"

"Just rip the bandaid off?" Dan turned to quirk an eyebrow at his employer.

"Yeah, I mean, you do kinda owe them—threatening them and all"

"And vice versa"

"I am Aja Tarron, Queen-in-waiting of Akiridion-5" Aja was the first to extend the olive branch, elbow-checking her brother to do the same.

"Ow! Yeah, fine! I am am Krel Tarron, King-in-waiting of Akiridion-5" Krel added, although a little more relunctantly.

"Well, _King and Queen-in-waiting_ , I'm a halfa running from the idiotic law" Dan replied, his tone turning bitter at the mention of the law. "My name is Daniel Masters"

"And I'm Stuart!" Stuart chirped from over Dan's shoulder as he pulled a strange device from his back pocket and held it overhead. Three green rings rolled down his form, reminding Dan of when he would transform using the same method (although without the device). An odd creature stared back at them, something with four eyes, glowing green skin and a stench that made his eyes water. "Ooh! I am the _biggest_ fan! OMG!"

"That…that explains _so_ much" Dan trailed off as he shuffled back a step or two. Green eyes snapped up from his boss to the ghostly breathe escaping from his lips. _Now? Really?_ "Well, this has been _tonnes of fun,_ but we're leaving now"

"At least return Varvatos" Aja replied.

"Varvatos…? Oh! The old guy!" Dan cocked his head to the side in order to peer up at his dog. "Cujo, spit him out. You don't know where he's been"

Cujo replied with a cough and retch before the Tarron's grandfather fell face first onto the concrete absolutely _bathed_ in dog slobber. "GLORIOUS! YOU ARE ENCASED IN SOME KIND OF GOOEY ARMOUR!" Varvatos beamed, poking at Cujo's chest where he remained standing over him. The elderly man then turned to face _El Guerito's_ occupants. "YOU WILL COME WITH VARVATOS VEX WILLINGLY OR BY FORCE!" Vex decreed as he strode forward still slathered in dog drool

"Yeah, good luck with that" And with that final farewell, Dan whistled for Cujo & bent to pick him up before the pair turned intangible and passed through the dead end behind them. The sound of Varvatos' protests and Stuart's excuses could be heard floating on the wind after him.

"Sorry 'bout him" Stuart could be heard saying, "He's had a hard life. Always a bit paranoid—and that's coming from me! Hehe!"


	6. Lingering Souls or Outclassed Burglars

Tracking via his Ghost Sense had become a well earned skill that Dan treasured so much more now that he actually knew a bit about the ins and outs of the ability outside of cold breath equals nearby ghosts. In a sense, he was like a dog following a scent trail to the object of his desire, but that's about as far as the similarities went. Where canines used their noses, he more or less followed after the cold trail like he was walking along a path or following after a particularly dense trail of smog. He'd tried to explain it to Stuart once, comparing it to the steam from a hot beverage or meal—not only could you _see_ the trail, but you could _smell_ it too.

In this case, his Ghost Sense led him to the town's sewers—after swinging by _Amity_ to grab the Fenton Thermos—and down into the maze of grungy tunnels. Not that it was the worst place he'd ever had to scavenge for souls, mind you, but still pretty gross. His nose scrunched up at the smell of sewerage and he quickly forewent slogging through the grey water in favour of floating above it, making sure to keep his tail as far out of the water as humanely possible. Intangibility or not, it was going to take more than one or two showers to get _this_ stink out.

After a few more obscene twists and turns, Dan soon found himself playing the role of undertaker as he vacuumed up the troll souls left behind in the tunnels, likely from the invasion and escape attempt of Troll Market only a few weeks prior. It didn't particularly surprise him that these were the souls that had caught his attention; they had to be rather close to the market by now and from what he could gather, more trolls had been captured and/or killed when they had been trapped inside during the invasion after Claire's suicidal attempt at a jailbreak.

At some point during the night, Dan had pulled out his music and jammed his headphones into his ears so as to both block out the incessant whining of so many souls clustered together in the tunnels. Since it had been so long since the initial incident which had resulted in their deaths, a fair few of the souls had started to form their corporeal forms. Although most of them looked more or less like partial flickering holograms that protruded from their little orbs as they weren't strong enough to keep themselves together in the Mortal realm. If he didn't hurry, he'd have more poltergeists on his hands that he'd know what to do with.

Humming along to whichever latest playlist Ember had plugged into his phone, Dan didn't even realised that he wasn't alone until a large splash followed by several retching noises reached his ears. Still slightly wary from his (false) encounter with the Tarrons earlier in the evening, Dan wasted no thought as he snapped to attention and shot a blast of Ghost Rays off into the dark where the noise had come from as he rose to his feet. He wasn't even really aiming, just shooting off a warning shot towards whomever was hiding in the dark of the sewers unbothered if they saw his powers (it's not like anyone would believe them anyway). At least that was the idea until a flash of blue answered him, accompanied by a war cry that had Dan sweeping up a clawed hand with a startled yelp to telekinetically catch the person before they could reach him.

 _"Jim? Jesus!_ Gimme a heart attack, why don't you? _"_ Dan exasperatedly sighed when he saw who it was he'd caught. Dark brows furrowed in puzzlement when he noticed the younger boy appeared to be wearing some kind of Fright Knight rip off, with the armour that was coloured in the most potent blue Dan had ever seen. It traced every nook and cranny of the armour, igniting the struggling boy in an eerie glow that would've made him look right at home in a cosplayer's fantasy. Sparing a glance passed the suspended teen, Dan soon discovered Claire bent in half with one hand on the tunnel wall (whilst the other clutched tight to her staff) over a puddle of retched vomit as she expelled the last of her stomach onto the floor. "Claire?"

"Hn?" Claire hummed, finally having finished as swaying slightly in place as she stood up and wiped away the bile glued to the corners of her mouth.

"You okay?" Dan worried as he let go of Jim, wincing only slightly at sudden clang and muttered curse that echoed when he clattered to the floor. Stepping around the knight, he made his way over to Claire who looked about two seconds away from passing out. "You look dead, and that's coming from me"

" 'm fine" Claire murmured, waving away the concerned hands held out to her. It would've been more convincing if she wasn't clutching to her staff like it was her lifeline as she swayed. "I'm okay"

"Whoa!" Dan's hands wrapped themselves around her waist as her legs buckled until he was really the only thing keeping her upright. Now that he was so much closer to the girl, his concern grew tenfold as he practically shared in her feverish temperature. Claire groaned, tucking her head into his chest, very much enjoying the perpetual coolness of death that emanated from all dead things. "Maybe you should sit down"

"What're you doing here, Dan?" Jim asked, eyes narrowed at the elder teen as jealously warred with concern—both clearly heard in his tone.

"My job" Dan nodded to the thermos that he'd clipped to his waist as he slowly lowered Claire into a seating position on the floor, away from the puddle of sick.

"I thought you worked at the taco truck?"

"I do"

"Then—'

"—But what're _you_ guys doing down here? Are you, like, LARPing or something?" Dan asked as he pressed a cool hand against Claire's burning forehead and winced at the heat he could feel coming off of it. Dan was willingly to bet you could cook an egg on her forehead right then, if you really wanted to.

"No—that's not—G'away from her!" Jim stammered over his words before shoving Dan back so that he could fuss over the sick girl.

"—'Cause that seems like something Toby would be into" Dan took the action in stride as he rose to his feet and shuffled back a pace or two. "Speaking of which, where _is_ your other partner in crime? 'Cause if this is s'posed to be a date, it's a pretty crap one"

"It's not a date—! It's—we're—"

**_VRROOOM! VRROOOM!_ **

"Oh thank God!" Jim muttered under his breath as the sound of whatever engine was revving inside the tunnels and muffled screams, quickly cut off that line of questioning. At least until the sound seemed to register. "Toby! They're taking him! But Claire—!"

"Go" Dan nodded towards the adjacent tunnel where the masked assailants and their hostage roared passed. "I've got her"

"Nngh!" A pained groan sounded from the connecting tunnel behind them.

"And him"

Jim narrowed his eyes at Dan, clearly trying to figure out whether or not he could trust him. It wasn't until another muffled scream for help echoed down the sewer tunnels. "…Thanks" He eventually nodded, trusting that the older would be able to take care of both parties before he took off after his best friend turned unsuspecting hostage on one of the leftover mopeds just strewn about the place.

Splitting himself in two, Dan instructed his duplicate to take Claire home after a few moments of trying to figure out how to balance both girl and staff in his arms before he took flight. Once the duplicate was gone, Dan turned to the connecting tunnel where Detective Scott lay in a groaning pile with ropes binding his lips and balled up socks stuffed into his mouth.

 _"…All units report in…"_ Crackled the abandoned walkie talkie where it lay beside the flashlight. _"…All units…"_

"What are you…?" Detective Scott mumbled, eyes blearily blinking open as he tried to see who was next to him in the dark tunnel.

"What are you?" Dan copied, using his voice manipulation abilities to try and match the detective's as much as possible before he answered the call.

"What'd you say, son?"

"What'd you say, son?"

"What game are you playing?"

"What game are you playing?" Having deemed himself ready, Dan picked up the communication device and using Detective Scott's own voice, replied to the dispatcher. "Officer down, I repeat, Officer down"

_"State your name and location"_

"Detective Scott. Beneath Franklin street in the sewers"

_"Alright, hold tight sir. Help is on the way…"_

Crackling filled the air once more as Dan freed the officer from his bindings before shoving the walkie talkie into his hand and hefting him up into his arms. It was an odd sight, a small 17 year old carrying a grown man like a baby as he soared back through the sewer tunnels. It was certainly something that would make you look twice; particularly as the detective kept mumbling about keeping princesses away from Toby. Soon enough, the pair emerged out onto a grassy knoll that bordered the main road where, as luck would have it, a patrol car was passing by.

Dan struggled for a moment or two but was eventually able to get his hand free so that he could catch the cop's attention. The whistle (which he often used with Cujo) pierced through the night, easily catching the other officer's attention as the car squeaked to a stop halfway across the bridge. Still using Scott's voice, he called out to the confused man on the bridge. "HEY! DOWN HERE! OFFICER DOWN!"

"SCOTT? IS THAT YOU?" Called his colleague as he made his way down the slope with flashlight in hand. And that was Dan's cue to disappear.

Returning to the sewers in order to find Cujo (who had spent the majority of the evening hunting rats and whatever else lived down there), he had barely floated into the cavern in which the confrontation between burglar and vigilante were taking place when his duplicate rejoined with the original. Dan breathed a sigh of contented relief when the duplicate returned to him and he felt his powers surge back to their full potential instead of the 50-50 split they had been when he had divided himself in two. Down below, it was starting to look more and more like some kind of weird LARPing situation with Jim dressed in full armour on a moped, surrounded by a trio of masked burglars and one frightened hostage.

"…Just don't hurt him!" Jim pleaded as a crowbar was held tight against Toby's neck.

"I don't know _what_ you Renaissance freaks are! But we're _not_ going back to San Quentin, ya hear me?!" Threatened the masked woman. Dan knew he could easily take down these puny thieves, but it looked like he was beaten to the punch as a great tremendous roar echoed down the tunnel opposite them, one that sent hordes of rats scurrying away and large dust clouds swamped the area like fog.

"Not good" Toby muttered as he was hauled backwards away from the tunnel. From the dust came three hulking figures, two of which were green. On the left stood Aaarrrggh practically glowing like emeralds as he gave a thunderous roar that shook foundations. To the right stood Blinky with all six eyes narrowed and arms at the ready as he stared them down like a stern and disapproving parent. Which left Cujo who had grown in size once more, only this time he wasted no time in threatening the thieves and instead went straight for the kill, so to speak.

"Aah! Nice doggy!" Toby fearfully backpedalled, having slipped free as his captor was swallowed whole and the other two fled like bats out of hell.

"C'me on, Cujo" Dan sighed, making himself known as he floated down much to the surprise of the others. "We've talked about this"

"Wha— _that's_ your dog?!" Jim cried, eyes snapping between the halfa and the ghost dog.

"Now sit"

"Ruff!" Cujo whined, lowering his rear end but not going all the way.

"Sit!"

"What?" Toby gasped as Cujo petulantly slapped his butt to the floor.

"Now spit out the girl" Dan continued sternly as he floated next to his dog's pout. "Drop her!"

"Hurk—ka!" Cujo coughed up the slathered girl, who quickly sprinted for the exit, or at least as soon as she could get her feet under her.

"Aw! You're such a good boy!" Dan cooed, proceeding to scratch Cujo's muzzle much to his pleasure as his large tail wagged rapidly behind him. "Yes, you are! Are you all tired from chasing the rats all over the place?"

"Arf!"

"Nobody appreciates you, do they? Do they?"

"Arf!"

"That. Was. Terrifying" Toby blinked dumbfoundedly at the scene before him. "You are absolutely terrifying"

"Oh, he's nothing but a big sweetheart, aren't you Cujo? Aren't you?"

"Sweetheart? He _swallowed_ a person!"

"He spat him back out again, so what's the issue?" Dan spared a glance over his shoulder at the pair of boys below him.

"Oh my gosh!" Toby gasped pointing up at him, open-mouthed. "Your eye!"

"What?" Dan puzzled.

"You've only got one eye!"

"What? Again?" Dan peered into Cujo's shiny tag to see that Toby was indeed telling the truth. It seemed that when he had rejoined with his duplicate, he'd not quite grown back his second eye, but one slap to the face later and he was back to normal again. Or at least normal for him.

"Wha—? Where's Claire?" Jim asked, desperately searching for his girlfriend for whom he was far ore occupied with than the display of beyond normal powers going on in front of him.

"I took her home" Dan replied coming to stand in front of the two juniors as Cujo shrank down and returned to chasing the few rats still lingering about the sewers.

"Ooh! Mr Scott! He's—" Toby interjected, as if the thought had just occurred to him.

"—Don't worry, he's fine too. He's outside with the cops—Can I help you?" Dan turned to Aaarrrggh who had taken Cujo's place and was now towering over him with questioning eyes.

"No heart" Aaarrrggh rumbled in reply, making Dan shift uncomfortably. While it was true that he still had his heart, it no longer beat as fast as it once did, if at all. After all, that was what his Ghost Core was for.

"What're you talking 'bout, Aaarrrggh?" Jim puzzled. "Everyone's got a heart"

"Not this one"

"But that's not possible!" Toby cried as he ripped his helmet from his head and slapped his ear against Dan's chest. An action which took the halfa by chance and cause him to tense, hunching in on himself at all the sudden attention. Most days he was nothing more than a wallflower and he hadn't had personal contact with another person in a _long_ time. "But it is! But it can't be—You should be dead!"

"I should be a lot of things" Dan shrugged stepping back as he shoved his sweaty hands into his pockets.

"How is that even possible?" Jim queried.

"Like I said" Dan rocked on his feet as his face pinched into this sort of painful wince. "It's complicated"

"Wait—! No way!" Toby suddenly perked up, beaming like he'd won the lottery. "No heartbeat, giant green dog, ghost boy—oh my gosh! You're—you're him! Jim—! Jim! It's him! It's _him! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!"_

"Him who?" Jim puzzled making Toby gasp as if he had been severely offended.

"Only the greatest supernatural butt kickingest superhero of all time!" Toby gushed as Dan wondered if he could call Cujo without getting caught, but alas as he was the current center of attention that wish was far out of reach. "Danny Phantom!Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I am _such_ a big fan…!"

"…Dan?" Jim turned to the elder teen who clearly looked like he wanted to do a runner. "Is it true? Are you this…Danny Phantom guy?"

"Heh" Dan huffed a melancholy laugh as his shoulder reached up to meet his ears. "Haven't heard _that_ name in a while"


End file.
